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The contributions of childbearing within marriage and within consensual union to fertility in Latin America, 1980-2010

Author

Listed:
  • Benoît Laplante

    (Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS))

  • Teresa Castro Martín

    (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC))

  • Clara Cortina

    (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

  • Ana Laura Fostik

    (McGill University)

Abstract

Background: Research has shown that the prevalence of unmarried cohabitation has increased in most Latin American countries and that childbearing within consensual union, traditionally confined to low-income groups, is becoming socially acceptable among highly educated women. Objective: We focus on the increasing importance of childbearing within consensual union for overall fertility. We measure the relative contribution of births within marriage and births within consensual union to period fertility as a component of population change for 13 Latin American countries from 1980 to 2010. Methods: We use census data and the own-children method to estimate the contribution of marriage and consensual union to age-specific fertility rates, to cumulative fertility, and to the TFR. Results: In most Latin American countries the contribution of marriage to age-specific fertility rates has decreased over time, whereas the contribution of consensual union has increased steadily. In Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico the contribution of marriage to the TFR is still larger than the contribution of consensual union. In Ecuador and Uruguay they have become roughly similar. In Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela the contribution of consensual union to the TFR is larger than that of marriage. Conclusions: In Latin America, fertility, as a component of population change, is less and less related to marriage and increasingly linked to consensual union instead. Comments: We found that not only the contribution of births within consensual union, but also the contribution of out-of-union births to overall fertility has been increasing over time. This is a finding worth investigating further.

Suggested Citation

  • Benoît Laplante & Teresa Castro Martín & Clara Cortina & Ana Laura Fostik, 2016. "The contributions of childbearing within marriage and within consensual union to fertility in Latin America, 1980-2010," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(29), pages 827-844.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:34:y:2016:i:29
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2016.34.29
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Castro Marín, Teresa & Cortina Trilla, Clara & Martín García, Teresa & Pardo, Ignacio, 2011. "Maternidad sin matrimonio en América Latina: análisis comparativo a partir de datos censales," Notas de Población, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    3. Ronald Rindfuss, 1976. "Annual fertility rates from census data on own children: Comparisons with vital statistics data for the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 13(2), pages 235-249, May.
    4. Maira Covre-Sussai & Bart Meuleman & Sarah Botterman & Koen Matthijs, 2015. "Traditional and modern cohabitation in Latin America," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(32), pages 873-914.
    5. Benoît Laplante & Ana Laura Fostik, 2015. "Two period measures for comparing the fertility of marriage and cohabitation," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(14), pages 421-442.
    6. Cho, Lee-Jay & Grabill, Wilson H., 1965. "Methodology for the measurement of current fertility from population data on young children," Series Históricas 8314, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
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    Cited by:

    1. Benoît Laplante & Teresa Castro Martín & Clara Cortina, 2018. "Change and continuity in the fertility of unpartnered women in Latin America, 1980–2010," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(51), pages 1577-1604.
    2. Cislaghi, Beniamino & Weber, Ann M. & Shakya, Holly B. & Abdalla, Safa & Bhatia, Amiya & Domingue, Benjamin W. & Mejía-Guevara, Iván & Stark, Lindsay & Seff, Ilana & Richter, Linda M. & Baptista Menez, 2022. "Innovative methods to analyse the impact of gender norms on adolescent health using global health survey data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    3. Hayley Pierce & Tim B. Heaton, 2020. "Cohabitation or Marriage? How Relationship Status and Community Context Influence the Well-being of Children in Developing Nations," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(4), pages 719-737, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; childbearing; consensual union; unmarried cohabitation; marriage; Latin America;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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